ICICI Bank case order set aside

PUNE: A sessions court here has set aside a magisterial court's order of January 20, 2012, that rejected the ICICI Bank's plea for interim custody of over Rs 26 lakh, which the police recovered during the investigation of a fraudulent transfer of Rs 1.85 crore from an account in the bank in 2010.
The court remanded the matter to the lower court for disposal afresh within a month of getting an authenticated copy of its order.The bank filed a revision application against the impugned order, arguing that the magistrate did not consider the Rs 1 crore indemnity bond executed in its favour for securing interim custody of the money.
Additional sessions judge Mohammad Nasir M Saleem upheld the argument while observing in an order on October 24 that the magisterial court did not consider the indemnity bond aspect. The court further held that since the bank's plea was rejected at the stage of investigation, there was no legal impediment now for the magistrate to reconsider the plea since police have filed a chargesheet. "The impugned order needs interference and the (bank's) application requires to be remanded for fresh consideration," the court said.
The bank had registered an FIR in 2010 in relation to a fraudulent transfer of Rs 1.85 crore from the account held by the District health and family welfare society at its Bund Garden branch. During the investigation that followed, the police recovered Rs 26,15,756 from one of the accused.
The bank had later moved a plea before the magisterial court, seeking an interim custody of the recovered cash. The magistrate rejected the plea in January 2012, stating that the investigation into the matter was in progress and that, the bank claimed a lesser amount though the amount involved in the crime was Rs 1.85 crore. However, the magistrate did not take notice of the indemnity bond executed for securing interim custody of the recovered cash.